Thomas F. McKenzie (5 November 1922 – November 1967) was a Scottish professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who spent most of his career with Heart of Midlothian.

Heart of Midlothian

McKenzie was born in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

and joined Hearts from Haddington Athletic in 1942 as a centre-half, having initially played as a

centre forward Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

as a juvenile with Pentland Rovers. After only one appearance for the Hearts team in the Wartime League, he left for

Arakan Arakan ( or ) is a historic coastal region in Southeast Asia. Its borders faced the Bay of Bengal to its west, the Indian subcontinent to its north and Burma proper to its east. The Arakan Mountains isolated the region and made it accessi ...

, where he served in

The Royal Scots The Royal Scots (The Royal Regiment), once known as the Royal Regiment of Foot, was the oldest and most senior infantry regiment line infantry, of the line of the British Army, having been raised in 1633 during the reign of Charles I of England ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. McKenzie returned to Edinburgh at the war's conclusion and established himself in Hearts first team as a left back. He formed a lengthy full back partnership with Bobby Parker who joined in April 1947. Renowned for his strength and tackling skill, McKenzie enjoyed particular success in his personal battles against one of Scotland's most famous

right wingers Rights are legal, social, or ethical principles of freedom or entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people according to some legal system, social convention, or ethical theory ...

of the time, Hibernian's

Gordon Smith Gordon Smith may refer to: In politics *Gordon H. Smith (born 1952), former U.S. Senator from Oregon, and current Area Authority for the LDS Church * Gordon Elsworth Smith (1918–2005), Canadian politician * Gordon Smith (academic) (1927–2009), ...

. Despite Hibs enjoying great success in the late 1940s and early 1950s, with McKenzie's effective shackling of Smith ensuring that Hearts enjoyed the upper hand in

Edinburgh derby The Edinburgh derby is an informal title given to any football match played between Scottish clubs Heart of Midlothian (Hearts) and Hibernian (Hibs), the two oldest professional clubs based in Edinburgh, Scotland. The two clubs have a fierce r ...

matches of the era. McKenzie captained Hearts during the 1949-50 season. He later saw off the challenge of Jock Adie to retain his place for the

1956 Scottish Cup Final The 1956 Scottish Cup Final in association football was played on 21 April 1956 at Hampden Park in Glasgow and was the final of the 71st staging of the Scottish Cup. Heart of Midlothian F.C., Hearts and Celtic F.C., Celtic contested the match. T ...

victory. He eventually lost his place in the side to the emerging George Thomson during the 1957-58 season but he made enough appearances to collect a winners medal, as Hearts won the League title for the first time since 1897. His final first team game for Hearts was on 30 October 1958. The 3-3 friendly draw at home against the South Africa XI (one week before his 36th birthday) was his only first team game that season. McKenzie left Hearts at the age of 36 at the end of the 1959 season. In total he made 351 competitive first team appearances (scoring five goals) as well 43 non-competitive matches (scoring 4 goals). Thus in total he played 394 Hearts first team games, scoring nine goals.

Time in England

McKenzie moved south to

Wisbech Town Wisbech Town Football Club is a football club based near Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, England. The club are currently members of the and play at the Fenland Stadium. History Although a Wisbech Town existed in the 1890s, the current club was estab ...

at the age of 36 playing one season with the

Southern Football League The Southern League is a men's football competition featuring semi-professional clubs from the South and Midlands of England. Together with the Isthmian League and the Northern Premier League it forms levels seven and eight of the English fo ...

club. He then moved to March Town as player-manager. He was still domiciled in England when he died in November 1967, as the result of a car accident. He was 45.

Legacy

His son David would later play League football with

Meadowbank Thistle Livingston Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in Livingston, West Lothian. Livingston currently play in the Scottish Premiership and were founded in 1943 as Ferranti Thistle, a works team. The club was admitted to the ...

in the 1970s.

References

External links

*
Appearances
at londonhearts.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Mckenzie, Tam 1922 births 1967 deaths Footballers from Edinburgh Scottish footballers Heart of Midlothian F.C. players Scottish Football League players Scottish football managers Wisbech Town F.C. players March Town United F.C. players Parson Drove F.C. players March Town United F.C. managers Association football defenders British Army personnel of World War II Royal Scots soldiers Road incident deaths in England